HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1034
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO DRIVER'S LICENSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that accelerated driver's license expiration dates for elderly drivers advance both the safety of those drivers and members of the public as a whole.  Nevertheless, the legislature also finds that current laws have created unintended consequences that impose inequitable renewal requirements upon some drivers based on the timing of those expiration dates.  A licensee whose license expires on his or her seventy-first birthday, for example, can hold a valid license up to the licensee's seventy-ninth birthday if the licensee obtains a renewal license on his or her seventy-first birthday.  A licensee may only hold a valid license up to the licensee's seventy-fourth birthday, however, if he or she obtains a renewal license on his or her seventy-second birthday.

     The legislature further finds that statutory language that states a license shall expire a certain number of years "after the date of the issuance" of the license, if applied literally, can lead to inconsistent results if applied to renewal licenses.  The licensee whose license expires on his or her seventy-second birthday, for example, could hold a valid license up to his or her eightieth birthday if the licensee obtains a renewal license before the licensee's seventy-second birthday.  Further, a licensee whose eighty-second birthday and license expiration date occurs on July 1, 2013, and who applies for a renewal license on or before that date, will obtain a renewal license that expires on July 1, 2015.  If, however, the licensee applies for renewal on July 2, 2013, the letter of the law requires a renewal license expiration date of July 1, 2016.  While the current practices of the respective counties' examiners of drivers may not reflect such an interpretation of the law, the legislature finds that clarification of the law is reasonable and prudent.

     The purpose of this Act is to make license expiration dates consistent with principles of equity and clarity by:

     (1)  Amending the initial age of the implementation of the

          accelerated license expiration dates for elderly

          drivers from seventy-two to eighty;

     (2)  Requiring all driver's licenses to expire when the

          licensees reach the age of eighty, but maintaining the

          licensees' privilege to renew; and

     (3)  Clarifying renewal license expiration dates by

          removing references to "dates of issuance" from the

          calculations of those dates and replacing them with

          references to the expiration dates of the licenses

          being renewed.

     SECTION 2.  Section 286-106, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§286-106  Expiration of licenses.  Every driver's license issued under this subpart, except for a provisional license issued under section 286-102.6 which shall expire on the date of the provisional licensee's nineteenth birthday, whether an original issuance or a renewal, shall expire on the first birthday of the licensee occurring not less than eight years after the applicable reference date [of the issuance of] for the license, unless sooner revoked or suspended[; provided that:], and subject to the following conditions, listed in order of importance from least important to most important:

     (1)  The license shall expire on the first birthday of the licensee occurring not less than four years after the applicable reference date [of the issuance] if[, at the time], on that date, the licensee is or will be twenty-four years of age or younger;

(2) The license shall expire on the eightieth birthday of the licensee;

    [(2)] (3)  The license shall expire on the first birthday of the licensee occurring not less than two years after the applicable reference date [of the issuance of the license] if[, at that time], on that date, the licensee is [seventy-two] or will be eighty years of age or older; and

    [(3)] (4)  If the licensee is a legal immigrant, the license shall expire no later than the last date of the licensee's authorized period of stay in the United States.

     The examiner of drivers may issue a license for a shorter period if the licensee has a physical condition or conditions that the examiner of drivers reasonably believes may impair the driver's ability to drive.

For the purposes of this section, the "applicable reference date", as applied to an original issuance license, is the date on which the original license was issued, and, as applied to a renewal issuance license, is the expiration date of the license being renewed."

     SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Motor Vehicle Driver Licensing

Description:

Amends the initial age of the implementation of accelerated license expiration dates for elderly drivers from seventy-two to eighty.  Requires a driver's license to expire when the licensee reaches the age of eighty, but allows for renewals.  Clarifies the language on expiration dates.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.